Quick Hits

posted by Jay -
Apr 26, 2017

The annual American Consumer Satisfaction Index is out with their annual report on the airline industry. While passenger satisfaction is up a bit from last year, it’s still in the bottom third of all industries earning similar scores as hospitals and private utilities, with slightly higher marks than health insurers. JetBlue was rated the best airline with an ACSI score of 82, a 2% improvement over last year, with Southwest coming in second (80).

Today is National Pretzel Day, and it seems Americans have some very distinct opinions when it comes to how they chow down on the twisty salty snack. 65% of Americans will go in for the curves of a soft pretzel first and then save the knot in the middle for last. Cheese is by far the most popular pretzel topping (28%), followed by mustard or chocolate (17%) and plain (13%).

There's no doubt today's poltical climate is pretty divisive and that's not helping things at the office. According to a survey by the Washington D.C. based research firm Clutch, 31% of U.S. employees believe that political conversations at work lead to an overall decrease in company productivity. Other findings from the survey:

12% of employees say that in the past week they have felt "uncomfortable" by political discussions at work.

45% of employees work at an organization that has a policy or guidelines regarding political expression in the workplace.

Employees are not in agreement about such policies, however; barely one-third of employees surveyed say their organization should have a policy in place regarding political expression.

But, among employees who have felt uncomfortable due to political conversations, 58% say their company should definitely develop a policy addressing the issue.

Plenty of people count calories, but it’s not the perfect way to drop pounds for everyone. Part of that is because a hundred calories of M&Ms isn’t quite the same for you as eating 100 calories of broccoli. And that’s why some dieters prefer the macro diet plan, where you don’t have to calculate calories, but keep track of macronutrients - or macros - instead.

So what are macronutrients? They’re the carbs, proteins, and fats that give us energy. And the macro diet is all about getting the balance of them right so it’s easier to lose weight, burn fat, and build muscle.

The amount of each macronutrient you need depends on factors like your basal metabolic rate and weight goals. On the macro diet, you won’t be focusing on how many calories you eat a day, but your target could be to eat 40% carbs, 35% protein, and 25% fats. To find out what your target macro ratio is, you work with a certified nutritionist or use an online macros calculator.

It sounds like a lot of math, but once you know your ratio, you track what you’re eating to stay within your macros. There are even apps like MyFitnessPal that’ll count your carbs, proteins, and fats for you. And one of the things fans of the macro diet like about it is that it’s flexible and you don’t have to give up any food groups. It lets you work your favorite foods in, as long as they fit into your macronutrient goals. So you can still have your cake and eat it too, just not with the pizza.